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The Castiles
]] Springsteen's first band was formed in July 1965 under the stewardship of Tex and Marion Vinyard, who sponsored young bands in Brick Township, New Jersey. Tex Vinyard named the band after a brand of soap. They recorded two songs in May 1966 at a public recording studio, "Baby I" and "That's What You Get". ?? 1965 39 Center Street, Freehold, NJ (Tex & Marion Vinyard's Residence. Bruce auditions for Tex Vinyard) ?? 1965 39 Center Street, Freehold, NJ (Tex & Marion Vinyard's Residence. After visiting and performing alone for Tex Vinyard a week earlier, Springsteen is invited for a tryout-rehearsal with the Castiles. After impressing everyone by performing "Twist And Shout”, Bruce is invited to join, thus completing the lineup which already includes George Theiss, Frank Marziotti, Bart Haynes, and Danny Hyland. They will spend the next 6 weeks or so rehearsing in the living room and developing a repertoire before performing publicly. August ?, 1965 Woodhaven Swim Club, Freehold, NJ (The Castiles first verified public performance for which they received $35. The show closed with a rock arrangement of The Glenn Miller Orchestra's “In The Mood”. By the time of this show original member Danny Hyland (harmonica, tambourine and vocals) had been replaced by Richie Goldstein. Richie would play tambourine and an Epiphone rhythm guitar that he called a "blue ep") August ?, 1965 Blue Moon Pizza Restaurant, Freewood Acres, NJ August ?, 1965 St. Rose Of Lima School, Freehold, NJ (Catholic Youth Organization dance) September ?, 1965 Angle Inn Mobile Home Park, Farmingdale, NJ September ?, 1965 Freehold Elks Lodge, Freehold, NJ (teen dance) September ?, 1965 St. Rose Of Lima School, Freehold, NJ (Catholic Youth Organization dance) October ?, 1965 Fort Monmouth Teen Club, Fort Monmouth, NJ (A teen dance held for the kids of stationed soldiers) October 8, 1965 I.B. Club, Howell, NJ (supporting The Florescents. Final show for Castiles member Richie Goldstein who leaves the band on this date. He is replaced by Paul Popkin) October ?, 1965 Reception Hall, Monmouth County, NJ (A wedding reception) October ?, 1965 Marlboro State Hospital, Marlboro, NJ (The Castiles perform for patients at this local psychiatric hospital) October 30, 1965 Drummer Bart Haynes quits the band and is replaced by Vince Manniello. November 13, 1965 Hazlet Firehouse, Hazlet, NJ November ?, 1965 Shoprite Of Freehold, Freehold, NJ (A daytime, outdoor show, with The Castiles the sole act on the bill and performing at the ‘Grand Opening’ of the regional food chain’s Freehold supermarket. The band performed in the store’s parking lot) November ?, 1965 St. Rose Of Lima School, Freehold, NJ (Catholic Youth Organization dance) December ?, 1965 V.F.W. Hall, Freehold, NJ (teen dance) 1966 January 29, 1966 Matawan-Keyport Roller Drome, Matawan, NJ (Supporting Don & Juan, with MC WNJR disc jockey Danny Stiles) February ?, 1966 Western Monmouth County Chamber OF Commerce, Freehold, NJ February 26, 1966 Matawan-Keyport Roller Drome, Matawan, NJ (Supporting The Exciters, with MC WNJR disc jockey Danny Stiles) April 22, 1966 Matawan-Keyport Roller Drome, Matawan, NJ (Battle of the Bands) May ?, 1966 Le Teendezvous, New Shrewsbury, NJ (Bass player Frank Marziotti’s final gig with The Castiles) May ?, 1966 39 Center Street, Freehold, NJ (Tex & Marion Vinyard Residence. Rehearsal, try-out and hiring of new bass player Curt Fluhr) May 18, 1966 Mr. Music Inc. Studio, Bricktown, NJ (Live rehearsals at site - and then formal recording - of two 'Springsteen/Theiss' songs, “Baby I” and “That’s What You Get”) May 21, 1966 Freehold Regional High School, Freehold, NJ (Junior Prom. All five members of the band (Springsteen, Theiss, Popkin, Fluhr and Manniello) were Juniors at Freehold High School, so this was their own Class Prom) June ?, 1966 Woodhaven Swim Club, Freehold, NJ July 2, 1966 Surf 'N' See Club, Sea Bright, NJ (The grand-opening night at The Surf ‘N’ See Club. Supporting The Rogues, who had been hired as the club’s house band for the months of July and August. As part of its job description The Rogues were to audition any local bands seeking work at the club. In the late morning The Castiles (hoping to land some future bookings) had auditioned for three of the six members of The Rogues (vocalist Thom White, drummer Mike Waters and guitarist John Waasdorp). Although they had not intended to have someone open for them on opening night, The Rogues members after listening to a couple of songs told The Castiles “you might as well leave your equipment here, you’re opening for us tonight”) July 10, 1966 Surf 'N' See Club, Sea Bright, NJ (A multi-artist extravaganza emceed by popular New York radio personality Gary Stevens, featuring five nationally known recording artists - Johnny Tillotson, The Jive Five, Dean Parrish, The Tymes & The Shangri-Las. Local bands The Rogues and The Vik-Turs, both of whom had impressed club management at club tryouts in May, received name promotion for the show as well. Several other local area groups (including The Castiles) performed brief, 2 or 3 song sets) July 29, 1966 Loew's 35 Drive-In, Hazlet, NJ (The establishment's '10th Birthday Party'. The Castiles open festivities at 7pm and play a 90-minute show supporting the movies "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming" & "McClintock") August 6, 1966 Harris Gardens Firehouse, Union Beach, NJ (Teen Dance) August 14, 1966 Surf 'N' See Club, Sea Bright, NJ (A multi-artist extravaganza emceed by popular New York radio personality Gary Stevens. Billed as the finale of a 3-day 'Surfers Holiday at Surf 'n' See', it was headlined by Little Anthony and The Imperials. Also on the bill were Steven Van Zandt’s band The Shadows) August 21, 1966 Surf 'N' See Club, Sea Bright, NJ (co-headlining with The Rogues) September ?, 1966 Freewood Acres Fire Department Recreation Center, Howell, NJ (Teen dance) September ?, 1966 Red Bank Catholic High School, Red Bank, NJ (School dance. Around this time organist Robert Alfano joined The Castiles) September 3, 1966 Arthur Pryor Bandshell, Asbury Park, NJ (A Battle-of-the Bands, with The Castiles competing for a cash prize with about ten other bands, each playing 2 or 3 songs. The Bandshell was located in the Fifth Avenue Pavilion complex along the shore. The winners were The Shadows (who included Steven Van Zandt in their line-up) September 17, 1966 Surf 'N' See Club, Sea Bright, NJ (co-headlining with The Berries) October ?, 1966 St. Rose Of Lima School Cafeteria, Freehold, NJ (Catholic Youth Organization dance) October 1, 1966 Hullabaloo, Middletown, NJ October 16, 1966 V.F.W. Hall, Middletown, NJ November ?, 1966 Cafe Wha?, New York City, NY (The Castiles pass an audition at Café Wha?, which leads to a series of about thirty shows, over the next fifteen months) November 3, 1966 Hullabaloo, Middletown, NJ November 26, 1966 Hullabaloo, Middletown, NJ December ?, 1966 Cafe Wha?, New York City, NY (played 2 shows here this month) December 3, 1966 Matawan-Keyport Roller Drome, Matawan, NJ (with Rusty Chain & The Catalinas) December 22, 1966 Hullabaloo, Middletown, NJ December 23, 1966 American Hotel, Freehold, NJ (Sweet 16' birthday bash for a fellow Freehold Regional High School female student) 1967 January ?, 1967 Cafe Wha?, New York City, NY (played 2 shows here this month) February ?, 1967 Cafe Wha?, New York City, NY (played 2 shows here this month) March ?, 1967 Cafe Wha?, New York City, NY (played 2 shows here this month) March 10, 1967 Hullabaloo, Middletown, NJ March 18, 1967 The Cage, Middletown, NJ April ?, 1967 St. Rose Of Lima School Cafeteria, Freehold, NJ (Catholic Youth Organization dance) April ?, 1967 Cafe Wha?, New York City, NY (played 2 shows here this month) May ?, 1967 Howell High School, Howell, NJ (School dance) May ?, 1967 Cafe Wha?, New York City, NY (played 2 shows here this month) June ?, 1967 Cafe Wha?, New York City, NY (played 2 shows here this month) June 9, 1967 Freehold Regional High School, Freehold, NJ (Senior Farewell Dance'. All the band members (except for Bobby Alfano, who had one more year to go) were graduating. The official graduation ceremony took place on June 19th, although apparently Springsteen didn’t attend and picked up his diploma later) July ?, 1967 Cafe Wha?, New York City, NY (played 2 shows here this month) July 2, 1967 See 'N' Surf Club, Sea Bright, NJ (WMCA-AM 'Good Guy' Special, held on the Club's 1st birthday) July 26, 1967 Camp Arrowhead, Marlboro, NJ (YMCA summer teen swim party and dance) August ?, 1967 Freewood Acres, Howell, NJ (A daytime 'beer/keg' party held in an open field on private property in the Freewood Acres area of Howell Township) August ?, 1967 Cafe Wha?, New York City, NY (played 2 shows here this month) August 12, 1967 See 'N' Surf Club, Sea Bright, NJ September ?, 1967 Cafe Wha?, New York City, NY September 16, 1967 The Left Foot, Freehold, NJ (Grand opening night at The Left Foot, supported by Purpul Dyneste) September 22, 1967 West Freehold School, Freehold, NJ (An organizational rally dance sponsored by the Freehold Board of Recreation) September 30, 1967 The Left Foot, Freehold, NJ October ?, 1967 Christian Brothers Academy, Lincroft, NJ (School dance) October ?, 1967 Cafe Wha?, New York City, NY (played 2 shows here this month) October 7, 1967 Middletown Community Center, Middletown, NJ (Triple bill, with The Shadows and The Ascots doing battle in a 'band wars' competition) November ?, 1967 Cafe Wha?, New York City, NY (played 2 shows here this month) November 24, 1967 Freehold Regional High School, Freehold, NJ (School dance) November ?, 1967 First Presbyterian Church, Freehold, NJ (The date of this show is unknown and could have been anytime up to mid-1968) December ?, 1967 Cafe Wha?, New York City, NY (played 2 shows here this month) December 22, 1967 Ocean Side Surf Club, Sea Bright, NJ (supporting The Broadways) December 27, 1967 Le Teendezvous, New Shrewsbury, NJ 1968 January ?, 1968 Cafe Wha?, New York City, NY (played 2 shows here this month) January 26, 1968 The Left Foot, Freehold, NJ February ?, 1968 Cafe Wha?, New York City, NY (played 2 shows here this month) February 23, 1968 Le Teendezvous, New Shrewsbury, NJ March 2, 1968 Le Teendezvous, New Shrewsbury, NJ March 10, 1968 Hullabaloo, Freehold, NJ (The Castiles perform at the grand opening of Hullabaloo’s Freehold location. This was the third and final Hullabaloo franchise to open in the area, the Middletown Hullabaloo having opened in 1966 and the Asbury Park Hullabaloo having opened in 1967. New evidence points towards the fact that The Castiles did not open this venue. The venue was actually opened on 22nd March by a group called The Fuzzy Bunnies. The MC for the evening was Screaming Lord Sutch) March 22, 1968 Le Teendezvous, New Shrewsbury, NJ April ?, 1968 Hullabaloo, Freehold, NJ April 26, 1968 Le Teendezvous, New Shrewsbury, NJ May ?, 1968 Off Broad Street Coffee House, Red Bank, NJ (Solo. The Off Broad Street Coffee House opened in May 1968 to cater for the burgeoning singer-songwriter music scene. The club also hired rock bands and provided open mike and hoot nights for aspiring talent of all types. Springsteen is known to have given several solo performances at the club during the May to October 1968 period. These performances included an array of folk orientated songs Bruce had written that didn’t fit into the rock setlists performed by The Castiles and later Earth) May ?, 1968 The Left Foot, Freehold, NJ May 11, 1968 Hullabaloo, Freehold, NJ June 6, 1968 Hullabaloo, Freehold, NJ (supporting Screaming Lord Sutch) June 8, 1968 Hullabaloo, Middletown, NJ June 18, 1968 YMCA Gymnasium, Long Branch, NJ ('Battle of the Bands', featuring a dozen groups, each playing a couple of songs. The Castiles were guest judges and also performed to close the show) June 19, 1968 Le Teendezvous, New Shrewsbury, NJ June 22, 1968 Off Broad Street Coffee House, Red Bank, NJ (2 shows) June 28, 1968 West End Casino, Long Branch, NJ (supported by The Broadways) July 5, 1968 West End Casino, Long Branch, NJ (supported by The Broadways) July 6, 1968 Le Teendezvous, New Shrewsbury, NJ July 12, 1968 Hullabaloo, Freehold, NJ (supported by The Junction Blues Band) July 17, 1968 Off Broad Street Coffee House, Red Bank, NJ (2 shows, supported by Jeannie Clark) July 24, 1968 Le Teendezvous, New Shrewsbury, NJ August 9, 1968 Off Broad Street Coffee House, Red Bank, NJ (2 shows) August 10, 1968 Le Teendezvous, New Shrewsbury, NJ (The Castiles Last Gig) August 27, 1968 Camp Arrowhead, Marlboro, NJ (unconfirmed. This event was advertised as a Castiles gig two months before it took place, during which time the band split up. It is unclear whether they fulfilled this commitment, although some Castiles gigs were taken over by Earth)